Somehow
by geenajay
Summary: I've read lots of alternative versions of the ending of season 11, episode 10. here's yet another one! Disclaimer: I am not anything to do with the series Supernatural, I am just a fan.


Lucifer tightened his grip around Dean's throat and raised his struggling body off the floor to the extent of his own arm length as high as he could reach.

"I'm gonna make it real easy for you, Sam. You say the magic word or your brother dies." His head turned back to look into Dean's eyes as he squeezed his hand harder around his neck. "And we both know you won't let that happen."

Sam and Castiel huddled momentarily in horror in their respective positions on the ground as Dean's lips began to turn blue and his desperate grip on Lucifer's hand and arm began to slacken and slip loosely away.

"Just a few more minutes," Sam whispered to himself. "We just have to last a few more minutes!" He could almost hear the bones cracking and splintering in his brother's neck.

Castiel gathered himself together and he rushed towards the Devil in a last ditch attempt to save Dean. Sam also struggled to his feet despite his ringing head from his own injuries so deliberately caused, as Castiel flung his arms around Lucifer's own neck and tugged backwards with all his strength to try and get him to release his death grip on his dying friend's throat.

He was surprised when it was momentarily easier than he had expected. Lucifer suddenly dropped Dean's limp body and staggered backwards with some force. Too much force, Sam realised as they both hit the other side of the temporary cage and fell. It was only as he caught his breath in relief and looked instinctively towards where his brother had fallen that he realised why.

There was somebody else now in the cage. A beautiful woman, long dark hair, long dark dress, eyes flashing in temper as she momentarily stared at them all. Sam had never seen her before, but he recognised her just from Dean's description of their first meeting.

"Amara."

"Amara?!"

Castiel and Lucifer spoke the name at the same time, Sam could hear the fear in both their voices. But she wasn't interested in them, didn't even look back as she turned where she stood and went down on her knees to where Dean was simply collapsed, fuzzily trying to get desperately needed air back inside his lungs.

"Dean."

Sam caught his breath again at the way she had just spoken his brother's name. And at the tender way she reached for his face with both hands and cupped it gently as he gasped and sucked in breaths of his own. Eventually he managed to recover enough to look blearily up at her with a lot of blinks.

"Amara?"

She smiled at him, then almost immediately it became a frown as her attention returned to the other three males in that cage. And most specifically the one who had had his grip around Dean's throat when she had arrived.

The other two noticed how Lucifer stepped back instinctively as she stood up, anger now contorting her beautiful features. Both Sam and Castiel stared as his previously arrogant, self-preening façade fell. Now he looked nervous. Now he was backing away into the solid bars behind him.

"Lucifer." They all shivered at the contempt as she spoke the name.

"Amara, I…" Sam knew he would never forget the sudden nervousness in his previous torturer's voice.

"You helped my brother entrap me." She was bracing herself now, hatred flowing through her entire body. Then she was looking down at the other two as she finally realised where they were and what their only intention could possibly have been. It was with triumph that her attention returned to the archangel. "Were you trying to convince them _you_ could stop me? You were only _part_ of what was needed. A very _small_ part. And I will _not_ be making that mistake again."

Lucifer readied himself and threw his most powerful force at her. He cackled gleefully as the blinding white power poured from him and struck where she stood with the capability of a million lightning bolts. The others in the cage covered their eyes in desperation before they were burnt out from their sockets. Even Castiel had to protect himself from the archangel's strength.

But as the glow faded, all their hopes faded at the sight of the beautiful woman standing exactly where she had been, with not a mark on her. She smiled at Sam and Cas's confusion and looks of crushed hopes. And at Lucifer's now open fear.

"I have just been smited by an entire army of angels!" She jeered. "And although I am a little tired and wish to rest, I am _still_ far more than a match for just _you_!" This last was flung at Lucifer, who trembled visibly and planted his back firmly against the bars waiting for her response.

It didn't come as he had expected. He anticipated an assault such as he had used, a blast of energy strong enough to tear him to pieces and obliterate the pieces into even smaller atoms. He was taken by surprise when she simply walked towards him, extending her arms gently to take his face into her hands in much the same way that she had taken Dean's only moments before.

His cockiness returned as he felt himself being pulled forward into her as though for a kiss. Even the Devil found himself tempted by her beauty. He leant forward eagerly for her lips, perhaps she was not so unforgiving and relentless after all?

Then, as her mouth opened as if in readiness to meet his, she began to breathe in deeply. Lucifer smiled momentarily then stopped in horror as he felt his grace begin to be pulled from his body. He tried to jerk his head away but her grasp on his face was too strong. He could only stand where he was and watch as what he had previously thought of as his eternal life force was sucked from the very mouth of his vessel and consumed by her. She stared into his eyes, no longer even wasting contempt on him as he ceased to exist.

Amara didn't let his remains fall until she had taken every last particle of his essence. Then as the body slumped and crumpled to the ground, she licked her lips and felt the boost of power flow into and recharge every bit of her.

"Delicious."

Sam and Cas cowered as she looked around her. Sam was desperate to get across to where Dean was still slumped against the bars on the other side, still deathly grey, the bruises around his neck increasing noticeably with every laboured breath. But for the first time, he fully understood and feared this more than woman and he had to admit he was too terrified to move at the moment. His last hope, his previously greatest fear and nightmare, Lucifer, hadn't even come _close_ to destroying her.

He was even more unnerved and aghast when Amara simply stretched out her arms and blew the cage apart around them. She started to turn to move back to his brother when she paused and looked around her. Then up.

Sam followed her gaze. As did Cas.

Above them in the continual gloom of Hell, they could make out the lines of chains like a huge metal web that held the greatest and most terrible prize at its centre.

The Cage.

Sam felt sheer terror as he recognised where he had been imprisoned for so long, although he had never seen it from the outside but only from peering out through the tiny windows so placed to emphasise the futility and finality of any occupant's hope of escape. He heard Castiel gasp beside him as he also registered what it was. Dean was looking up as well, still with laboured breaths, trying to work out what it could be.

As Amara took a couple of steps to one side to better see it, Sam watched to see if he could take his chance to crawl as inconspicuously as he could scuttle to his brother's side. But he also wanted to know what she was doing.

Amara raised her hands, her expression tightened and suddenly the Cage was swinging around in the chains, pulling and tensing them, yanking and flexing them against each other until suddenly they were snapping and the Cage was falling.

The angel and human huddled together as the huge metal box came crashing down. Sam looked in terror towards his helpless brother only to see that the Darkness had returned to his side and had one of her arms around him in protection. Even as he stared and tried to understand, Sam could hear the cries of consternation from Crowley and Rowena who had come to see if their spell to put Lucifer back in his cage had worked and realised that it obviously hadn't.

Then the box that had no discernible way in or out hit the ground only metres from them and was torn apart by Amara's power until there were just pieces of useless misshaped metal scattered around. There was nothing left. Apart from a single figure curled up in a foetal position.

All the onlookers stared as it slowly unfurled and hesitantly sat up. Dean felt the pain in his heart as he recognised the vessel that had been his youngest brother, albeit a half-sibling. Sam felt more than pain as he remembered what he and Adam had so horrifically shared, although he still hoped with all his heart that it wasn't really Adam, that Michael had at least tried to protect anything left of him. That he hadn't let Adam suffer as Lucifer had so enjoyed letting Sam suffer. He prayed even now that at least one of the archangels had lived up to their benevolent reputation.

"Michael."

The Darkness was on her feet and approaching him. The figure looked round.

"Amara? No! You can't be free!"

"Oh but I am. And you are doubly delicious." She had Michael and his vessel on his feet before anyone else could move, and was drawing in what was left of his grace to her open mouth.

Sam felt his tears fall as he knew that that would be the end of Adam and that his own dream of somehow, one day, rescuing him would never be fulfilled. He could hardly bear it as the last of the grace wisped and spiralled from the body. He closed his eyes against the sight.

"Amara!" It was Dean trying to get to his feet. "Amara, please! Leave the human soul! Please! It's my little brother Adam. Michael took him as a vessel! Please Amara! Let his soul go to heaven. Please!" His voice was all but wrecked from the force of Lucifer's grip on his throat but his pleas were clear enough.

The Darkness paused and turned to him. Then she smiled. "For you, Dean."

With a slight puff from her lips, the grace was expelled momentarily and a small portion of it separated before she inhaled the rest once more to become part of herself. She caught the small, human-soul size glow in her hands and looked around at Dean, raising them in askance.

He understood. "Cas will take him. He'll keep him safe. Thankyou, Amara." He still could hardly stand without having to lean against something, Sam was desperate to somehow get to help his brother.

He tried to sneak across as Castiel cautiously stepped forward to the female and took the soul from her, holding it as carefully and as gently in his hands as he would have held a baby. But Amara tutted and looked at Sam and he stopped.

"I'm worried about Dean. Please let me go to him."

"There's no need." Even though she was smiling, he felt his heart go cold at her words. What did she mean, there was no need? His brother was injured. He needed Sam to go to him.

But Amara was already returning to Dean's side and reaching for his face with her hands. Sam froze. Surely she wasn't about to kill _him_ as well?

Then to all their consternation, the Darkness was pulling Dean's face far closer to hers than she had with any of the others.

He resisted. "Amara. I can't…"

Her fingers were across his lips. "Dean. You're mine! I call to you and you have no choice but to come. And you cried out to me as you were in danger because you knew I will always be there for you."

"I didn't, Amara." He paused. "Did I?"

"Of course you did, I heard you clearly. And I'm glad you did. I have the power of two archangels extra now." This time she succeeded in pulling his lips to hers. "We're bonded, Dean. I would never let anything happen to you, you're mine. Time to accept it and stop resisting me."

As the kiss deepened, Sam stared in horror as he could see Dean's face become expressionless, his green eyes unblinking, his conscious thought being buried beneath her power. "Dean!" he gasped.

But he already knew his brother could no longer hear him.

Even as he watched, their figures became like shadows on a bright but patchy cloudy day; not sharp and in focus, but softer and more muted, disappearing and becoming less obvious as the sun hides its face behind the natural sky curtains. Just like the shadows dull and disappear as the brightness of the light fades, so did the forms of Amara and his brother. They were there, then somehow, slowly yet suddenly they weren't.

They only left silence In their place.

A long silence broken by Crowley. "No wonder she didn't want me to hurt him! If I'd only had sense to grab _Dean_ as well, I could have had God's sister in my pocket! Bugger!"

Sam stared at him in anger and disbelief, but couldn't find the words. In fact he couldn't be bothered with the demon. This had all gone so very, very wrong. He finally turned to Castiel, who was still holding Adam's soul carefully in his hands. To his consternation the angel had a single tear sliding down his cheeks.

"Cas, I…"

"She's taken Dean, Sam."

"I know, Cas. I know. We'll get him back, Cas. This is my fault and we'll get him back somehow. Somehow we'll figure this out. We'll find a way. We always do. Somehow…."


End file.
